In a major relief to Piramal Capital, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday said its approved resolution plan for bankrupt mortgage lender Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) can’t be subjected to statutory claims which weren’t known earlier. The appellate tribunal also allowed Piramal’s resolution plan to continue.
The NCLT had on June 7 approved Piramal Group’s Rs 34,250-crore resolution plan to acquire DHFL, but added that the approval of the plan shall not be “construed as a waiver of statutory liabilities of corporate debtor, and same shall be dealt by authorities in accordance with law”. Piramal Group had challenged this part of the order.
Appearing for Piramal Capital, senior counsel AM Singhvi said the successful resolution applicant can’t be expected to go to all authorities for approval. He also said making a successful resolution applicant go from pillar to post will make the plan a non-starter.
Singhvi cited an earlier order of the Supreme Court which said all statutory dues owed to authorities extinguished after the nod to resolution plan.
Senior counsel Ravi Kadam, appearing for the administrator of DHFL, also agreed to the view and said such a situation will make insolvency an endless process.
Senior counsel Ramji Srinivasan, appearing on behalf of the CoC, submitted that the plan has been approved by the CoC and should be implemented without any delay and Piramal should honour its assurance to make payment to CoC.
DHFL has been under insolvency proceedings at NCLT in Mumbai since December 3, 2019. The troubled mortgage lender has admitted claims of Rs 87,120 crore with State Bank of India (SBI) being the lead creditor. Bondholders have claimed Rs 45,550 crore while financial creditors have sought Rs 41,342.23 crore from the mortgage financier.